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Thursday, April 21, 2016

The word universe means
one spoken sentence. “And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there
was light. (Genesis 1:3)

The
one, true, perfect God of the universe created man in His
image(Genesis 1:27), but lacking His ultimate power. In place of
that, He totally provides all that is necessary for life to His
creation. To man, He gives free-will and, originally, only one rule
- “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)
How did He impart this rule? He told them. He communicated with them.
They knew each other.

Even
though physical death became part of human destiny, Adam and Eve
managed to produce a multitude of offspring. Unfortunately, only a
noted few walked with God as their ancestors did. “Now the earth
was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.” (Genesis
6:11) Fewer and fewer people chose God out of their own free-will. He
floods the earth, but spares Noah and his descendants.

A
later, noteworthy deliverance involves those who continued to
acknowledge the creator God, the Israelites. The masses got to ride
the coat-tails of the ones who continued to seek Him. Moses pressed
into God's explicit directions and led an entire people group out of
slavery. In their Exodus, they are utterly dependent on his mercy and
provision. He has to get more specific with his rules. Now, there are
ten. The very first commandment (Exodus 20:1-3) is prefaced with “I
am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land
of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Just a
reminder of the most important thing. The other nine commandments are
for protection and so that life may be well. The need for these
“rules” points to our inclination toward using free-will for
selfishness instead of for worship, relationship, or obedience.

At
this point, the people have rules, and eventually need rules to
follow when they break the rules, in order to reconcile with God. He
responds to an established sacrifice system in order to commune with
His people. It is costly, but He is Holy. The Temple,the Tabernacle,
the Ark of the Covenant, Feasts, Festivals, altars, garments, animal
sacrifices, offerings, I could go on...and it would still pale in
comparison to perfect righteousness. He knows.

As
time moves on, the system becomes the focus instead of God. It
becomes a ritual of tradition. Actions motivated by the mind instead
of by the heart. The very people who claim the Creator of Heaven and
Earth as their master, adopt outside cultural icons and pagan
practices into their religion. Clamoring for a king within their
ranks instead of worshiping the King of the Universe.

Still,
there exists a continuous voice. Prophets who can hear from God.
“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said
to me, 'Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint
you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and
overthrow, to build and to plant.'” (Jeremiah 1:9) They remind the
people who God is, what He can do, and that He is capable of wrath
and/or compassion.
“For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and
says to you; Do not fear; I will help you.”(Isaiah 41:3)

Isaiah foreshadowed a new plan of reconciliation. The Messiah. The
once and for all sacrificial lamb. He would be “despised and
rejected by men” (Isaiah53:3) Interesting. He would be “pierced
for our transgressions”.(Isaiah 53:5) Ouch. Jesus is recognized and
embraced by the weary and those burdened by the law. He is scorned
and renounced by the power-hungry religious elite who are unwilling
to, ironically, acknowledge the will of God.

John told everyone he could. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(1:14) “I have
seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”(1:34)

Who
else could endure the cross? He did so without sinning, and even
forgiving those who betrayed him, insulted him, spit on him and
brutally nailed him to it. Appointed kings, anointed prophets, nor
anyone in the old testament ever came close. This is the difference
between being made in the image or being the son of God.
They didn't have “what it takes”. God-power!

Jesus
is the ultimate sacrifice. The old system is dead. He is the “tree
of life” (Genesis 3:22), so to speak, and your choice dictates your
eternity. Even your ability to choose is God-given. He is worthy,
mighty, holy, awesome, and He loves us all. (2 Peter 3:9) Believe it!